A politician in the UK has been silenced after asking the Mayor of London to clarify his position on transgenderism, but it’s not “Cancel Culture,” according to Mayor Sadiq Khan. It’s “educating the ignorant.”
Last month, during a London Assembly meeting, David Kurten, asked Sadiq Khan to explain his position on transgenderism after the Mayor tweeted, “trans women are women” and “trans men are men.”
Kurten asked: “You put out a tweet last year in February, saying this: ‘Transwomen are women. Transmen are men. Non-binary people are non-binary. All gender identities are valid.’ Now, I read that – and I know a lot of people read that and didn’t have the foggiest what you were talking about. But it seems to appear that you think men who say they are women are actually women, and women who say they are men are actually men. So, I want to see what you actually think about this. Do some women have male reproductive organs?”
Rather than answering the question, Khan side-stepped, noted the suicide rate among trans people and accused Kurten of ridiculing them.
“I’m simply trying to find out your opinion,” Kurten said in response. “But you’ve dodged the question. You haven’t answered the question. Do some women, Mr Mayor, have male reproductive organs?”
After refusing to clearly answer the question for a second time, Kurten rephrased it, asking if men are able to give birth.
Khan responded: “I think what you’re in danger of doing is to try and incite hatred against a group of people that I care passionately about. As far as I’m concerned, trans rights are human rights and I proudly stand against any abuse directed towards trans people and the wider LGBTQ+ community. It may seem fun to you, and a good way of playing to a certain audience, I’m not going to have it.”
“Mr Mayor,” Kurten replied, “I’m simply asking you a question to find out what you think and you haven’t answered my question.”
Adding, “Mr Mayor, I want to find out what you think, because this is an issue that people have opinions on and I want to find out your opinions.”
Kurten then noted the push to remove gendered language from the NHS, such as “mother,” “breast feeding,” and “pregnant women,” and asked Khan if he would support such a move.
At this point, Kurten was interrupted by Green Party member Caroline Russell, who accused him of using “discriminatory language,” adding, “I think the member should not be further heard.”
Labour’s Leonie Cooper, seconded Russell’s suggestion, describing Kurten’s question as “appalling.”
The Chairman, Labour’s Navin Shah, then told Kurten to move on from his question because it was “verging on very, very offensive comments which are not acceptable.”
Assembly member, Andrew Boff, of the GLA Conservatives, then chimed in, accusing Kurten of “blaming the minority for the problems of the majority.
“That entails coming up with lies to make them plausible.”
Boff went on to say, “What is the truth? The undeniable truth – and I hope this Assembly can speak as one – well, obviously not as one because the one person has gone AWOL – that transmen are men. Transwomen are women. And trans rights are human rights, and let’s never forget that.”
Mayor Khan then said how proud he is to associate himself with those who silenced Kurten’s question.
“I think you’ve heard this morning, Chair, cross-party support from Conservatives, Labour, and Greens,” Khan said.
“Now some will try to portray this as Cancel Culture. This is not Cancel Culture. What’s happened is, a combination of Conservatives, Labour, and Greens have sought to educate the ignorance spewing from that member’s mouth.”
Or as George Orwell put it in his near-prophetic novel, 1984: “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” Hence, he added, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.”
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